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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gottfried who wrote (35171)	6/19/2007 11:33:36 PM
From: Return to Sender	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95333

From Briefing.com: 4:25 pm : Tracking the major indices was a painstaking affair for most of the session as they followed summer form and traded in tight ranges. At the end of the day, though, the bulls were able to declare a victory in Tuesday's battle as the broader market squeaked out a modest gain. General Electric (GE 39.29, +1.22) played a key role in the victory as it broke out to a 5-year high on more than twice its average daily volume. While we like GE's fundamental standing, the Dow component didn't share any specific news that would explain its positive showing. Accordingly, market observers were left to conclude that its strength was predicated on technical factors. Whatever the reason, GE's mega-cap weighting helped lift the broader market; and it stood as a positive focal point that kept selling efforts in check. The same can be said for the Treasury market which continued to recoup the losses it suffered that sent the yield on the 10-year note as high as 5.31% a week ago. Today the yield on the benchmark note hit 5.07%. Setting aside those positive developments, there were some casualties in today's battle. Best Buy (BBY 45.18, -2.83) was the most prominent one following what can only be described as a disappointing second quarter earnings report. The consumer electronics retailer fell 11 cents shy of the consensus EPS estimate of $0.50 and then issued guidance for the full year that was below the market's expectation. Other fallen stocks included Leggett & Platt (LEG 22.08, -1.49) and Microchip Technology (MCHP 37.91, -3.74). Both companies issued disappointing guidance and paid the price as a result. Yahoo! (YHOO 27.63, -0.49), meanwhile, was another notable laggard as investors expressed concerns about the company's competitive position following a management change that included the resignation of Terry Semel as CEO. Led by GE and the airline stocks, the industrials sector (+0.97%) was the best-performing sector today. Conversely, consumer staples (-0.54%) was the worst-performing. The May Housing Starts report came and went without causing much of a stir. The good news was that starts were down only 2.1% versus an expectation for a 3.5% decline. The bad news is that the data continue to point to a weak environment for starts. Separately, building permits increased 3.0% while the market was expecting a jump of 1.0%. (Disclosure: Briefing.com has a business relationship with Yahoo!)DJ30 +22.44 NASDAQ +0.16 SP500 +2.65 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1398/1621/1.92 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1348/1923/1.43 bln 4:09PM FSI Intl misses by $0.06; guides Q4 revs below consensus (FSII) 3.98 -0.04 : Reports Q3 (May) loss of $0.19 per share, $0.06 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of ($0.13); revenues fell 65.4% year/year to $25.2 mln vs the $25.2 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $20-$24 mln vs. $28.38 mln consensus. 9:01AM Rambus announces its XDR Memory Architecture Adopted in Texas Instruments DLP Projector System (RMBS) 18.06 : Co announces that its XDR memory architecture has been adopted in Texas Instruments (TXN) DLP technology. Projectors powered by the DLP chip utilizing the XDR memory architecture are ideal for displaying movies, sports, games or digital photos. 8:46AM Mattson expands logic position with win from 'major' microprocessor manufacturer (MTSN) 9.94 : Co announces multiple Suprema strip system orders from a major microprocessor manufacturer. The chipmaker will use Suprema at its most advanced 300 millimeter fab to ramp production of its next-generation microprocessors. 6:46AM ESS Tech updates reorganization plan; announces strategic transaction committee formed in April 2007 and updates Q2 guidance (ESST) 1.36 : Co provides an update on the status of its ongoing reorganization activities and announced the formation of a Strategic Transaction Committee in April of this yr. The co announced in Nov 2006 that the ESS board of directors and mgmt would reorganize operations and change the co's business plan. Since that announcement, the co has sold its advanced BluRay/HD- DVD technology for $13.5 mln, has licensed its latest standard definition DVD products for $2 mln plus future royalties, and has closed its cameraphone division. Co issues guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees non-GAAP EPS of ($0.07)-($0.03), compared to previous guidance of ($0.14)-($0.11), excluding stock based compensation that analysts are including, may not be comparable to ($0.12) Reuters Estimates consensus; sees Q2 (Jun) revs of $16-19 mln, compared to previous guidance of $15-19 mln, vs. $17.24 mln consensus. In addition to these actions, the board of directors has evaluated the co's current business activities and has determined that the fabless semiconductor business model has changed significantly due to increased foreign competition. Therefore, in early 2007 the board decided to investigate exiting the co's fabless semiconductor businesses while continuing its efforts to license ESS's intellectual property; accordingly, in April 2007, the board appointed its Strategic Transaction Committee. As part of its review of strategic alternatives, the Strategic Transaction Committee will investigate a total liquidation of the Company. Management has advised the Strategic Transaction Committee that costs associated with a total liquidation could be between $6 and $12 million and notes that the Company had over $50 million of liabilities on its balance sheet at March 31, 2007.